Explanation:
Here lie familiar shapes in
unfamiliar
locations.
On the left is an emission
nebula
cataloged as NGC 7000,
famous partly because it resembles our fair planet's continent of
North America.
The emission region to the right of the
North America Nebula
is IC 5070, also known for its suggestive outlines
as the Pelican Nebula.
Separated by a dark cloud of obscuring dust, the two bright nebulae
are about 1,500 light-years away.
At that distance, the 4 degree wide field of view spans
100 light-years.
This spectacular cosmic portrait combines
narrow band images of the
region in a false-color palette to highlight bright
ionization fronts with fine details of
dark, dusty forms in silhouette.
Emission from atomic hydrogen, sulfur, and oxygen is captured in
the narrow band data.
These nebulae can be
seen with binoculars from a dark location.
Look northeast of bright star
Deneb in the constellation Cygnus the Swan.